RUNNER
by cloudydayswithblindingsun
Summary: The world has always had its secrets. The government has always tried to keep them covered up. Quinn is one of those secrets and ever since she has discovered her abilities she has been running. Lima is the last place she wanted to be but the only place she's needed right now.
1. Chapter 1

"New York is a filthy place." Quinn could hardly hear anything without pushing herself as tightly against what she assumed was a wall and placing her ear directly on it.

"No, I know babe." She heard a gruff voice with a somewhat country twang to it say. "Yeah I'll be home tonight, it shouldn't take too long. This is getting unloaded at some warehouse in Ohio." There was a long pause and Quinn was panicking. She hadn't heard anyone talking since she had woken up, just the sound of what was now confirmed as a semi going down a road. Its final destination? Ohio. Quinn had never been to Ohio and she really didn't have any desire.

"I have no idea what I'm haulin', just told it was real easy to break so to be careful. It's heavy as shit, that's for sure." Quinn heard a clam which she presumed was the door to the drivers cabin before the movement that had previously been her companion, started back up.

What was the last thing she remembered? She remembered Sue. She remembered the look on Sue's face when she turned her pistol towards her.

"I'm sorry, Q." She had whispered before agents surrounded her. Quinn didn't break eye contact with Sue the entire time. She only watched the still body of her friend on the ground.

Now she was in a metal container inside of a semi being hauled from New York City to Ohio. "Could this possibly get any better?" Quinn spoke aloud for the first time since that night which must have been two days ago by now.

She scooted away from the side of the metal box and lay flat on the floor of it, barely being able to stretch out all of the way. She felt the cuffs on her wrists and feet dig in.

Quinn was all to aware of what kind of shackles these were, any attempt to get out of them and she'd receive a long and steady stream of electricity in her body. They always used these handcuffs on people of her nature. The ones with her types of powers. If she even tried to use her powers a little, the cuffs could somehow sense it and she would be "rewarded" immediately. She hadn't been lucky enough to run into anyone with the ability to control electricity yet. And now she wasn't even sure if she ever would.

Quinn was tired of sitting and laying, the last time she tried to stand they had hit a bump and she had smacked her head against the top of the metal crate that she was almost sick. This time she was determined to not make that same mistake.

She knelt slowly and carefully, feeling the little bumps of the road as she did so. She ran her hands delicately against the smooth surface of the walls. She shimmied along on the ground, tracing her hands all along the corners, and when she almost reached the last corner she felt something hanging from the wall. She fumbled and tugged against it, relishing in the little resistance that it provided.

It was an envelope Quinn quickly figured out as she tore into it. It seemed to have some papers in it and something cold. She dug it out and traced her fingers over it. The cold object was small, and had two little knobs in a different direction of its long slim body. She knew it was a key. She jammed the contents of the envelope into her shorts that had been issued to her upon her capture. They were your basic gym shorts but with the unmistakable neon number '25' printed on one leg, along with her shirt arm. She knew what it stood for. She was number 25 in the transport that was going to Ohio. Quinn knew then that whatever or whoever was waiting for her wouldn't be pleasant.

So while the papers were tucked neatly away, she struggled to get the key into her cuffs. The cuffs were cutting into her wrists and she could feel the dampness of blood trickling down her arms. "FUCK!" She screamed, banging her hands against the wall in anger.

"Why the fuck is this so hard!" She ground through her mouth, and then she had an idea. Slipping the key into her mouth she brought her cuffs to her mouth and aimlessly attempted to unshackle herself.

The key slipped from her mouth when a bump in the road sent her slamming around the metal encolsement.

"No…no no no no no no no!" Quinn began sweeping against the floor, feeling for the dropped key. "Where did it go?" She felt the hot tears begin to fall.

"No!" Quinn yelled once more, the heat in her hands built and she knew it was about to happen, the fire exploded from her hands but instead of feeling the electricity, she heard the buzz. She looked down and saw the electricity was surrounding the other side of the cuffs. She was either extremely lucky and had gotten bad cuffs, or someone had sabotaged them.

Not thinking twice, Quinn wrapped her hands around the cuffs on her feet and felt the melting of the metal. The sound of the metal falling onto the metal of her cage was like heaven.

"Now we're getting somewhere." Quinn laughed to herself. "Time to get the fuck out of here." Quinn said matter of factly, placing her hands against the wall and listening to the dripping of the liquidified steel meeting the floor. Once the hole was large enough Quinn drew her hands back and smiled.

She could feel the air around her, holding both palms out and watching the fire illuminate the rest of the open semi-trailer, she looked down and saw three other steel cases like hers. Quinn placed her hands against one of the other boxes and felt the metal giving way, but when the driver swerved she lost her balance. The blonde reached out for anything to stabilize herself but felt herself reaching the ground in a few seconds. Her body bounced and she rolled with her fall hoping to minimize the damage.

She felt sick and dizzy and could feel all the scrapes, bumps, and cuts that were going to be there the next morning. She felt guilty in a way, she would probably have another day of her life but the others on that semi? They were going to be lucky to live another week. And if they did then they'd be lab rats.

Quinn sighed and picked herself up from the dirt covered shoulder of the road. "Where the hell am I?"

Walking forward she saw a dingy sign with three bulbs, one that had burnt out long ago, beneath it lighting up the words "WELCOME TO LIMA, OHIO!" A sign next to that showed all of the awards that the high school had won, mostly cheerleading awards.

"Great." Quinn spat. "I'm in a small city."

Wanting to put distance between her and the open road in case the semi driver realized what he lost, Quinn began to limp into town. There was no way in hell she was going back to a facility.


	2. Chapter 2

**Just a tiny update.**

Quinn felt as her feet were getting cut up even more with each step she took. So far she had only made it about two miles into Lima and by the looks of it, this small town was going to take notice of her eventually. She had already passed by a homeless looking man who managed to do a double take at her.

Ducking into a side street as she heard a group of people about to round the corner she thought about it. Maybe he was looking at her because she looks as if she had just fallen off a semi and rolled in the dirt.

She could hear the sounds of teenagers laughing, something that once upon a time, she too had pictured herself doing. But then came the day where she got mad, her anger had flared so badly, she hadn't meant to hurt anyone.

"Stop!" She hissed aloud, trying to force the memory away.

"Did you hear that?" One of the male teens asked, looking into the darkened alley she as hiding in.

"Nah man, must be the beer talking." Another taller one said.

Quinn held her body against the wall tightly, even holding her breath. It felt like time was moving impossibly slow.

She watched as the shadow of the boy who spoke first began to dip into the ally. "No guys, I really think someone said something."

"Fuck…" Quinn whispered. She was either going to have to wait and see if he found her or just run. Why was she running though? It's not like any of these people knew anything about her or what she is. What she's capable of.

When she heard his footsteps getting closer she made her decision. Pushing from the wall, she darted through the alley way, dodging loose trash and other foreign objects.

She heard the footfalls behind her. "Hey wait up!" The first boy called. "Stop running! I just want to talk!"

Quinn knew no one ever wanted to "just talk", they always wanted or needed something else from her.

She continued sprinting, the rip diagonally down her shirt was fluttering against her chest, it felt exhilarating in a way. She had never been in this state or this place. She felt free for the first time in a while.

That freedom quickly ended when she took a wrong turn and ended up facing a dead end. She heard two boys calling out in the distance and stepped back and rested against a dumpster that was next to a wall to her left.

A body went flying past making her jump and instantly putting her back on her guard. She knew better than this, she knew not to let her guard down, and now? Now she was like a trapped animal while she waited for a predator to come back and finish her off.

As she backed up, uncertain of what to do she watched and listened. Quinn could hear the gentle jog returning to her alley.

"Hey!" The dark figure spoke out, gentler than it had before. "God, you sure can run, but I finally got you." He said, out of breath.

Quinn continued backing up while he advanced forward. When she felt her back hit the wall she acted, running to the side and jumping, her right foot came into contact with the side of the wall which she used to kick off of and propel herself towards the dark figure's face.

"ARRAGH!" She yelled as she kicked his face mid air, breaking her fall with a roll.

She heard a tell tale crunch and the man scream. She lunged forward and reached out, grabbing for his shirt, wrenching him forward and into her space. With the other hand she drew back and opened her palm, the light illuminated his face and she took a second to really look at his features. He had stubble and was sporting a short mohawk.

"Why are you following me!?" She hissed at him, watching his eyes dart back and forth between her eyes and her glowing hand.

"Dude, can you get that light out of my face? It's killing my eyes!" He reached up to swat at it and she immediately let go of him and backed away, closing her hand and feeling the flame extinguish.

She turned and began to sprint away, "Don't follow me!" She yelled over her shoulder.

She hadn't been in this town for more than an hour and she had already assaulted someone. Wow, what a great way to start out the-

She had left one of the back alleys and had made contact with another person, knocking them to the ground as she stumbled, trying to catch her footing. When she turned, she saw a short brunette girl looking at her from the ground. Before Quinn could say anything close to an apology, the girl began talking.

"You know it's quite rude to run into someone and not even offer them a hand up." The short brunette huffed, dusting herself off once she was off the ground.

When Quinn tried to speak she was cut off again, "Not only that, but it's common courtesy to look both ways before running out of somewhere so that you don't hurt someone else or even injure yourself."

Quinn couldn't help but roll her eyes. This girl didn't even know her and she was lecturing her. Not only that but she hadn't even looked at her. For all this girl knew, she could have left by now and she wouldn't even have noticed.

Quinn cautiously glanced around and when she saw that no one else was around them she immediately picked her pace back up, heading down the road toward anywhere than where she was currently.

After jogging for roughly 20 minutes, Quinn wound up on a street that was decent in size. Well, compared to the other streets that she had seen so far in this town. She looked around, notice the only thing nearby were houses, all without lights on, and some dogs barking.

"What a nightmare." She spoke aloud, turning and walking to a bench that was across the street.

Quinn spun around and sat down on it, facing where she had previously been standing.

She felt like all the wind had been knocked out of her. Her stomach was doing somersaults and her head began to swim. Because on a billboard where she had been standing was Sue's face.

"Sue Sylvester?" Quinn asked into the night, her mouth hanging open.

Behind the older woman was a pyramid of girls in cheer-leading outfits.

"McKinley's finest." Quinn whispered the bright red words that were above Sue's head on the billboard.

"Her cover is a cheer leading coach?!" Quinn tried to stand but saw stars and felt her body crumple into the cold, unforgiving sidewalk.


	3. Chapter 3

SUE. Sue was in Lima and not only that, she was a head coach of a cheerleading team. At a high school. Why?

Quinn needed to find out, she needed to know why Sue was pretending to be a cheer coach when she was a major government agent.

That's what led to Quinn breaking into McKinley High and walking down the freshly waxed floors. Quinn was tired and on top of that her body was beginning to get a slow, rough ache to it. Quinn felt like every time she walked, she was walking on glass. She had wanted to stop, to just continue lying on the cement, even if it had busted her head and left a decently sized cut on her head, jaggedly going down her right forehead, and trailing into her eyebrow. She was hating Sue even more now, if that were even possible.

She crept onward, coming to a stop in front of the lit-up trophy case. It was filled with cheerleading trophies, some that even said they were won on a national level. Quinn felt a smile barely emerge onto her face. She wasn't surprised by this; Sue was very dedicated but she couldn't imagine her yelling so often like coaches did. It just wasn't in her character but after everything that happened, Quinn wasn't sure who Sue really was.

"Stupid fucking trophies." Quinn spat, getting ready to smash the case to pieces. She froze when she saw a picture in the far corner, intentionally sectioned off away from the cheerleading trophies.

Quinn tried to slide the case but found that it was locked. Sighing, she took her shirt off and wrapped what was left of it, around her hand and punched the case. She wasn't concerned, she wasn't here to play nice. She removed her hand from the shattered glass and threw her shirt to the ground. Looking down she noticed the blood that was stained into her grey sports bra, when she touched the strap covering her shoulder and winced. The blood was still fresh and it was throbbing in pain.

Deciding to ignore it for now, she reached for the item she was after in the first place. It was a picture of a group of miss fitting teens. She noticed right away the mohawked boy, narrowing her eyes at him.

"He's a high schooler?" She whispered aloud. "Why the fuck was he chasing me then?" She gripped the picture frame strongly and heard it crack, the glass splintering in several different directions. She removed her finger from the corner of where she initially cracked it and noticed the brunette she had ran into. "Why the hell are all these kids out so late?" She murmured. She was used to being out late, sure she was the same age as them but she had been on the run from the government for a while now. She was always running, regardless of the time of day.

Quinn noticed that the girl was flashing a huge smile at the camera, but it didn't look real. It was more of a pose, something you'd practice in front of a mirror doing.

Sighing, Quinn let the picture slip from her hands and break against the ground as she continued walking. She was reading the signs next to every door, hoping that she would eventually come to one that said something related to Sue.

Halfway down the hallway, after passing a biology room, a library, and a girl's bathroom, she almost gave up with the hall she was on. Right as she was about to turn to go down another hall she saw a faint light peeking out from beneath a door.

Quinn felt her heart rate increase, if Sue was here then she knew that she was also here or at least nearby. The blonde crept towards the door, she wasn't going to give up stealth in case it was someone else.

Quinn stood four feet from the door feeling more than exposed in only her sports bra and the ripped shorts that she was sporting. She felt her stomach doing flips as the name next to the door shouted at her. It was Sue's office, Sue Sylvester.

Rage filled Quinn, she felt pure hate for Sue and could tell that she there was no turning back once she went into her office.

Quinn felt her hands tingle for a moment, knowing that the flames were there. "SUE!" She yelled, striding the four feet forward and kicking the door in.

She saw Sue turn unexpectedly towards her and that where she threw the first ball of fire.

"You backstabbing bitch!" She screamed as Sue ducked down beneath her desk.

Quinn threw another fire ball at the desk, watching as it scooted it backwards and into a wall, Sue stood then with a gun in her hand.

Quinn saw red, she knew this would happen so she laughed bitterly. "You're going to kill me?" She asked Sue, letting her hands sink down next to her sides. "You should've done that in New York!" Quinn screamed, throwing two fireballs. Sue rolled out of the way and her back hit the wall as she lay against the wall on the ground. She had the gun pointed at Quinn now.

"You weren't supposed to be there Q!" Sue yelled, trying to get through to the blonde teen. "You said you weren't going to show up, I didn't know what to do!"

Sue looked around in a panic, this was the end of the line and they both knew it. "Did you get my note? The money that I put in with you?"

Quinn ground her teeth together. "Are you trying to stall?" Quinn spat at Sue

"NO!" Sue spoke up in fright. "No, they were in there with you. Why do you think your handcuffs didn't shock you?"

When Quinn heard that she visibly shook. She took a slight step back from where Sue was on the ground. Sue took this moment to stand up, reluctantly moving the gun away from Quinn's direction. Quinn felt the fire in her hands dwindle and then extinguish. "That, was you?" Quinn asked quietly.

Sue tucked the pistol into the back of her waist band and sighed. "Yeah, Q. I owed you that much."

Quinn's attention snapped up at this, the anger returning. "You owe me a lot more than just that."

Sue let out a small huff, "I know Q, I know that I fucked up but there a reason it had to be done. She was way out of control and-"

Quinn felt the tingle return to her hands and screamed at Sue. "Enough! She wasn't doing anything wrong!" Quinn stepped forward. Sue didn't reach for the gun, she just looked sadly at Quinn.

"You're wrong, Q. If we hadn't intervened that day, she would have gotten both of you killed eventually." Sue tried to step towards Quinn but was met with Quinn's hand raising.

"Don't you come near me!" Quinn spoke, the flame in her hand burned a bright blue, licking viscously against her hand. "You killed her, Sue! You didn't even give her a chance."

"She ran out of chances the minute she told me you two were leaving New York. She was going to take you to her father!" Sue stepped up, her face barely avoiding the flame.

Quinn quivered, her body was shaking and she felt like she was going to be sick. She dropped her hands, feeling the flame leave again. "You're lying." She said weakly. "She said she hadn't spoken to him since we escaped."

"She was lying, Quinn." Sue turned towards some partially charred folders that littered her office floor. She began digging through them as she spoke. "She was trying to gather a lot of you for her father. She had you, and all of your contacts plus a few strays she had found along the way." Sue eventually found a less charred folder somewhere near the bottom of a destroyed pile. "Here." She said, turning to Quinn and offering the folder.

Quinn squinted unsurely at the folder. "What?" She snatched it from her hand. "Is this supposed to magically make up for what you did? For killing her? For putting me back into a facility, back into that nightmare?!" Quinn held the file and watched it turn to ash, trickling from her hands and in-between her fingers. "It doesn't mean anything to me. She was going to take me there? Who cares! I would have escaped and I would have shown her how wrong it was! Instead, you killed her!"

"She never would have stopped. She had been doing it for a while, ever since she was around your age." Sue said, sliding her desk back to where it was before and reaching into one of the drawers. "I made copies, I figured you'd be pretty pissed." Sue retrieved the file and slid it across her desk, facing Quinn.

Quinn stared at Sue and stepped forward, slamming the document open to the first page. Ashley was on the first page, but she was younger. Quinn began reading, she noticed Ashley's father's name was in the document a lot. The stories of Ashley bringing people with powers to him. Quinn began to frown, skipping pages and ending up on a recent picture of Ashley, it was from a security camera somewhere. The document showed pictures of Ashley meeting with her father and texts throughout the year…all the way up to the date of her death.

Quinn's name appeared in the texts, along with many of the people she had introduced to Ashley. Quinn stepped back and looked at Sue.

"The day that I got you locked up and sent away in that truck, was the day that she planned on her dad coming. He was going to gas all of you at some meeting place and take you." Sue looked hard at Quinn then. "I couldn't let that happen, Q."

Quinn felt alone again. Completely alone. The past three years of her life was spent dodging the government with Ashley. She had met Sue long before then, but Ashley had a deeper connection to her. She understood the struggles of powers and the life she had to live because of them.

"I-I don't know what to say, Sue." Quinn stared at the floor. "Thanks, I guess."

Sue laughed at this a shook her head at Quinn. "You guess? I sabotaged your cuffs and gave you all that money and you 'guess' that you're thankful? Damn, Q, I thought you'd be just a little bit more thankful than that."

Quinn looked up to see Sue smiling at her gently, leaning against the desk with her arms folded. After a few weeks of knowing each other, Sue had done exactly this. That's when Quinn knew that she could trust her.

Quinn reached into her pocket, remembering that she had stuffed an envelope in it. She pulled out the folded envelope and opened it. At her first glance, there was at least three thousand dollars in the envelope. At the top of the envelope, in tiny, scratchy words, it said "I'm sorry" and below that "I will find you" and Quinn knew that Sue would have found her eventually.

Quinn smiled and looked up to see Sue blushing. "Well I guess you found me, huh?" Quinn laughed lowly and watched Sue start to collect her papers and other various objects that were skewed throughout the room during their exchange. She glanced over her should at Quinn, who took the hint and began to help tidy things up.

"So what's the plan?" Sue asked the blonde teenager.

Quinn collected the papers and threw them in the trash, earning her a glare. "What?" She asked.

Sue marched over and picked out the papers, sliding them into a recycling bin next to the garbage. "Reduce, reuse, recycle. God, Q, I know you saw that big ass billboard in New York every day same as me."

"Ahh, so it got to you then? You're wanting to save the planet now?" Quinn joked lightly, trying to take her mind off everything she had just learned.

"Whatever. Just pick this shit up and answer my question." She began to reorganize the things inside of her desk.

"I don't know." Quinn realized for the first time. "I figured I'd come here and…" Quinn trailed off.

"What? You'd come here, take care of me, and then take off back to your old habits?" Sue asked with a serious tone.

"Yeah, I guess." Quinn scratched the back of her head, noticing the lump that he pony tail was slightly covering up.

"Well if you want my opinion," Sue closed the last drawer on her dresser. "you should stop running." Sue looked at her and picked up her two chairs in front of her desk, straightening them as she did it. She motioned for Quinn to sit. "You need to rest, I mean god, look at yourself!" Sue motioned to all of Quinn. "You're a mess, you look like you got into a car accident!"

Quinn cringed at that and shrugged, she did in a way.

"Look, it's worked so far but it's not working out now. And one day the government is going to come for me too. I'm going to have to start running some day too and I know I'll need to learn how to from the best." She winked at Quinn, "You need to slow down and patch yourself up. Even if that means going someplace far away from people."

Sue stood and picked up the picture of herself that was hanging behind her on the wall. Quinn laughed at this, noticing Sue stop for a moment, but then continue to take the picture down. A safe appeared on the wall and after a few second of twisting a knob, the safe opened. Sue dug through it and produced a large envelope. She closed the safe and spun the knob randomly before hanging the picture back up. She slid the envelope in front of Quinn before returning to sitting at her seat behind her desk.

"What's this?" Quinn asked, taking the envelope in her hands.

"Ten thousand dollars." Sue said plainly.

"And what am I doing with it?" Quinn asked after waiting for Sue to elaborate.

Sue leaned her elbows on the table. "You're going to stop running." She said intensely. "This has to stop, you need to rest Quinn because when they come for you, which they will, you need to be ready. Why do you think I was here at my office?" Sue asked Quinn, Quinn gave a shrug, knitting her eyes together in question. "They called me and said someone had escaped. I knew it was you, I knew it had to be. I rushed here and began to look for the file, when I did I made copies. I was going to get that money out and go find you. But you found me." Sue finished.

Quinn stood and paced over to the window. "Are they looking for me now?"

"Yes." Sue answered. "I contacted someone who is going to make that driver's memory a little fuzzy, and another person is going to take care of the footage at any gas stations that are on the border of Ohio. Your driver stopped at one, we just don't know which one. They think you broke out long before Ohio and we want them to keep thinking that."

Quinn turned towards her and sighed. "Who's head of my case?" Quinn asked stiffly.

Sue sighed and shook her head. "I tried to get it but David was all over it. I wanted to fight him more on it but that would have looked suspicious."

Quinn felt a chill creep down her body. David was a young agent but he was thorough. He hated Quinn because she had ruined his first assignment by escaping a government facility that he oversaw for the first time. It was his first field assignment and his last for two years. He had been climbing the ranks and this case was clearly his second attempt.

"He's going to kill me." Quinn whispered.

Sue looked up at her. "No. no, he's going to try to kill you." Sue walked over to Quinn and put her hand on her shoulder. "I made a promise to you all those years ago that I wouldn't let anything happen to you. I'm going to keep that promise." Sue gave her a watery smile. "Let's get you patched up, huh kid?"

Sue squeezed her arm then and Quinn let out a pained grunt. Sue immediately retracted her hand.

"I think I cut it on something when I fell off the semi-trailer." Quinn supplied.

Sue motioned for her to come forward and moved her bra strap to get a better look. "It looks like a piece of glass, probably from a bottle or a car wreck. Let's head to my house and I'll get it out and stich you up."

"Your house? I figured you'd want me out of this town." Quinn said nervously.

Sue looked out of the window for a few moments before replying. When she looked back at Quinn her eyes looked so lost. "I don't trust that you will take a break, and I'm afraid you'll go off the radar and I won't find you, or that David will find you first." Sue turned back to her desk and fished around in a drawer before producing a set of keys. "I need to be able to keep an eye on you." Sue said, ushering Quinn into the hall with her a locking her office door behind them.

When Sue had told her she would be keeping an eye on her, she didn't know that this was what she had meant. Because right now, she was sitting in front of a man who looked and sounded like he wasn't qualified to be a principal of a high school.

"High school." Quinn said under her breath for what felt like the hundredth time that morning since Sue had told her that she would be attending. Sue had thought this way Quinn wouldn't run off while she was busy coaching, which Quinn still couldn't get over, but also it would give her time to relax and feel normal. Quinn wasn't going to bother trying to explain that she wasn't normal and that she would never be able to live a normal life. Not after everything she had been through. What eighteen-year-old had been shot at as much as she had and still could claim that their life is normal? Quinn couldn't think of many that would be able to.

"Miss Sylvester?" The principal asked causing Sue to barely perk up while Quinn stared blankly at the 'vandalized' trophy case. Sue had given her a look this morning and shook her head. Sue had then said it was probably one of her cheerleaders and was going to 'punish them accordingly'.

Quinn had also noticed that this version of Sue was different than the one that she was used to. Sue had explained to her before they left that morning that she would be acting differently and expected her to follow along. So when Sue began giving everyone awful glares and shouting at students randomly, Quinn put on her best bitch face and glared at anyone who dared to look her way.

"Quinn. Quinn? Quinn!" Sue yelled at her, which finally snapped her out of her daze.

"What?" Quinn asked, confused. She looked to Sue and then she looked to the principal, she thinks he introduced himself as Figgins but she couldn't say for sure.

"I simply said, Welcome to McKinley High, Quinn Sylvester." Figgins then looked at Sue. "It's surprising that you have a daughter." He said, Sue then glared at him and looked like she was about to lunge at him.

"This must be part of her persona." Quinn thought.

"I mean that you never spoke of her so I was shocked is all." Figgins immediately corrected.

"She was a disappointment up until now." Sue spoke as if Quinn really was her daughter. "Only because she chose to live with her father. But now she wants to live with me so she clearly isn't a disappointment or a dimwit." Just as Sue finished a bell sounded.

"First bell, get to class, Q." Sue commanded firmly. Quinn could see the smile in her eyes and she knew it was her silently wishing her luck.

"Right. Thank you, Principal Figgins." Quinn stood and shook his hand politely. "I'll see you at lunch mom?" Quinn asked, feeling the word 'mom' come from her mouth to address Sue, just made her feel awkward.

Sue was looking down at her yellow notepad, presumably trying to look uninterested and more focused on something cheerleading related. "Negative. I have to figure out what cheerleader has desecrated my trophy case."

Quinn nodded and opened the door. As she began to close the door she heard Sue speak up. "Oh and Quinn?" Sue asked her in an agitated voice. "It's 'Coach' at school." Sue finished. "Enjoy this trash hole." Sue said, cutting off any response and stepping forward to close the door the rest of the way.

Quinn was left in an empty hallway and no clue to where she was supposed to go. Quinn knew that she had to be in biology so she retraced her footsteps from the night before and found herself standing in front of the girl's restroom.

"Ugh." Quinn said, sighing and looking down the hall. "Fuck it." She said and pushed open the door.

She had expected it to be empty, instead there was a short brunette standing in front of a sink. Scratch that, she wasn't just standing, she was washing something out of her hairs.

Quinn saw that it was red and rushed forward. "Hey are you okay?" Quinn asked, reaching across the brunette and grabbing a handful of paper towels. Quinn applied pressure to the side of the girl's head that she had been washing.

"You're supposed to apply pressure." Quinn said to her at last, finally looking at the other girl and meeting her eyes.

The brunette was staring at her, wide eyed. "What?" Quinn asked her. "Are you okay?" She looked at the door. "I can go get someone." Quinn paused. "Actually I'll just carry you, alright?" Quinn went to grab her but the girl jumped back and began to laugh.

Quinn was very confused at this so she looked down at the paper towel she now had in her hand and saw that the color didn't match the color well enough for it to be blood.

"What the hell is this?" Quinn asked her, slightly annoyed at the girl who was now actively laughing at her.

The girl caught her breath and let out a few more short giggles before responding. Quinn instantly recognized her. She was the girl from the picture she had looked at last night, the picture that was in the trophy case.

"I'm sorry, I'm truly not trying to be rude." The short girl seemed to compose herself instantly once she saw that Quinn was irritated. "I just am not normally used to being talked to. Especially by someone so…" Rachel trailed off and blushed.

Quinn caught what she was saying and blushed a little herself. Back in New York she had dated a few girls, nothing too serious, but she knew what she liked, and that was women. But this was Ohio and she was certain that the girl was just embarrassed.

"Right." Quinn said flatly. "I just thought that you had a head injury. What is this?" Quinn held up the paper towel that was covered in something red.

"It's a cherry slushy." The brunette said to her, returning to dampening a paper towel and trying to blot the substance off her head.

"Come again?" Quinn asked in confusion.

"Oh, right!" The shorter girl stopped and turned to Quinn again. "Well the 'jocks'," She air quoted, "and the cheerleaders tend to target me because I am very verbose and speak my mind. This is a way that they punish me for how I am." The brunette finished.

"By pouring slushies on you?" Quinn asked for clarity.

"Precisely." The brunette said. She stammered then and looked shocked. "How rude of me! I haven't even formerly introduced myself!" Quinn just shook her head and smiled. "I'm Rachel Berry! Future Broadway star!" She flashed Quinn her smile. "And you are?" Rachel asked while she stuck her hand out to be shook.

Quinn laughed lightly and spoke. "I'm Quinn, new to Lima and I'm almost positive I've already seen all of it. Rachel laughed at this and smiled a genuine smile, not like the one in the picture Quinn had seen.

Quinn reached out and firmly shook Rachel's hand. She felt a strange pressure in her hand that traveled through her body and made it tingle. Rachel didn't realize what was happening and turned to throw away the paper towel she had been using to clean her hair. She bent down and picked up her backpack, turning again to face Quinn.

"You should know that I am normally a very punctual person, and despite the daily slushy facials I always appear to class on time. However, last week my biology teacher informed me that I could not come to his class 'dripping slushy everywhere because I almost broke my neck on your puddle'. So I am tardy to class for the first time all year." Rachel looked to Quinn, noticing the girl seemed like she was zoned out. Rachel was used to people zoning out when she talked so she cleared her throat, snapping Quinn out of her day dream. "What class do you have right now?" Rachel asked in hopes of sparking up their conversation again.

"Umm…" Quinn reached into her jean pocket and retrieved her folded up schedule. "Biology." She said flatly, looking at Rachel.

Rachel, determined to make a new friend and get another Glee member, perked up and clapped her hands together enthusiastically. "Excellent! I'm also headed to biology! I'll show you the way!" Rachel said cheerily, and raced to the door and held it open for Quinn.

"Thanks." Quinn spoke quietly as Rachel rushed to walk next to her, leading the way to their shared class.

Quinn hadn't zoned out because of Rachel's talking. She had zoned out because of their handshake. Because the last time that she had felt that, she had received a new power. Because every time she made contact with anyone who had a power, she also gained that power.

And now she had a new power. One that she had no idea of. And Rachel must not know that she had this power either, if she did, Quinn would have been able to tell. Rachel wouldn't be so outspoken. She would be more subdued. She would try to hide it.

Lima, Quinn was finding, was a lot more interesting than what meets the eye.


	4. Chapter 4

Quinn sat in the auditorium and pulled the brown paper bag lunch that Sue had packed her that morning. She was glad that Sue had finally decided that she was healed enough to go to school. Quinn had become restless when Sue had placed her under house arrest the previous two weeks. She would simply sit in front of the television that Sue had bought and never used. The first struggle was setting it up. Quinn hadn't had the most normal life and the struggle with technology wasn't new. Always being on the run meant that she had no way of keeping up on the current technology.

Now she found herself in the auditorium. Well, the back stage of the auditorium where no one could possibly find her. Quinn had gone out of her way to ignore people, especially after biology with Rachel. The other girl had asked her if she wanted to spend lunch with her but Quinn hastily made up an excuse about having to speak with her other teachers to catch up on course work. When Rachel had insisted in helping her she had declined again, and the look on Rachel's face told her that she knew Quinn was trying to get rid of her.

"Whatever." Quinn said to herself as she took a swig from the water bottle Sue had put in her bag. She didn't like how her heart skipped slightly at the thought of hurting the brunette's feelings. Quinn let her feet slide all the way out and rested her head lightly against the curtain that was against the wall. She thought back to her first night here and laughed to herself. Rachel had been the brunette that she had ran into after coming from the alley. As much as she wanted to ask the other girl about it, she knew that it would only arise suspicion that she didn't need right now.

Quinn dug further into the paper bag and realized she wasn't very hungry. Always being on the run had taught her to control her appetite. Sighing, she sat up and threw the water bottle back into the bag, placing the bag into her backpack and hoisting it onto her shoulder. She hated the weight of the bag and didn't understand why teachers or a school could possibly expect students to lug them around. The blonde took a few steps forward before she stopped and took cover against the wall that she had been resting on, all of lunch. Rachel was sitting on the stage of the auditorium, while Quinn had been unknowingly sitting backstage, having taken the first door earlier that would take her away from people. Quinn peered out at Rachel, listening to the humming that was coming from where she was sitting.

"What…" Quinn whispered as a loud noise sounded from the other side of the auditorium. Two boys came into view, stomping their way up to the stage.

"Hey babe!" The tallest one shouted, lumbering towards Rachel who barely perked up. "Puck and I had to talk to coach before we could head here." The tall boy looked around as the other one threw himself into a seat in front of Rachel. "Where is everyone?" The tall boy asked.

Quinn automatically didn't like him and she knew it was partially from his familiarity with Rachel. She ground her teeth, annoyed at herself. She hated being jealous, especially when she hardly knew Rachel.

"I'm not sure. I addressed everyone about the meeting yesterday but they seem to have forgotten I suppose." Rachel responded. "Please tell me that you requested practice off for Friday, Finn." So his name was Finn. Quinn started to like him even less, what kind of name was Finn, she thought.

"We can't have it off, game day baby." The other boy spoke up. Quinn snapped her attention to him and strained her eyes. She saw an outline of a mohawk and let out a low growl.

Rachel pushed off from the stage, her feet catching her on the ground safely. "It's not that big of a deal!" She began to speak loudly with her body, throwing her hands out as she talked. "The game you have doesn't count! It's just scrimmage!" Rachel looked at Finn. "Did you tell coach Beiste that without one of you present, we won't be able to compete? Rachel was reaching a high pitch by now and Quinn grimaced at the sound it made against her ears.

"Babe I tried!" Finn whined at Rachel as she walked past him and began to pack her lunch up inside of her bag.

"Yeah, barely." Puck murmured.

Finn kicked the other boy. "Shut up, man!" Finn placed his hands on Rachel's shoulders and turned her around. "I'm the QB, Rachel. She needs me."

Rachel looked up at Finn with puppy dog eyes. "This is important Finn, it's not just about me."

Puck began to squirm in his seat clearly annoyed with the conversation and having to be there for it. "Look dude," Puck rose, "I have stuff to do." He punched Finn as he walked past.

"Dude wait!" Finn yelled. He turned to Rachel and smiled quickly, taking her hands in his. "Can we talk about this later?" He lowered his voice and Quinn had to lean forward to catch what he was saying next. "Maybe at your house?" He said suggestively making Quinn gag to herself. "You said your dads won't be there." Quinn perked slightly. She hadn't expected the word 'dads' especially in a place like Ohio.

Rachel looked down, "No, Finn. I have to finish rehearsing-"

"That's all you ever do!" Finn complained, throwing his hands up dramatically. "When will we ever spend time alone?" He stared at Rachel in frustration. "You keep putting it off."

Puck had taken this time to sneak out of the auditorium and Quinn was starting to think she would follow his example.

Rachel sighed "I just think we need to think about it more, Finn."

"What's there to think about?!" Finn screeched at Rachel. "I love you and you love me, right?" Finn stared at Rachel who was looking at him like he was the most obnoxious person in the world.

"There's more to it than-" Rachel tried before Finn leaned down and kissed her roughly. Quinn shook her head, this boy was trying to be spontaneous and charming but all Quinn got from him was overbearing and forceful.

He removed his slobbery lips from Rachel's after about thirty seconds, in which Quinn thought she was going to lose the little breakfast that she had eaten. "Rachel opened her eyes quickly while Finn opened his in a daze. "Did you feel that Rachel? That's fireworks." He said with a cheesy grin.

Rachel smiled, bringing her hand to his face softly and trying to keep the fake smile plastered carefully. "We'll talk about it later, okay?"

Finn groaned into her hand and removed his face. "Right." He grabbed his backpack from the auditorium floor and slung it back into place around his shoulders. "I'll see you after school for Glee, I guess?" He gave her his best pouty face. She nodded at him as he bent to kiss his forehead. Finn stalked out of the auditorium and Quinn instantly felt the tension dissipate.

Quinn turned and headed for the exit that she had come through. Her hand was on the handle when she heard a gentle voice and she stopped all movements.

"I heard that you're settled down  
That you found a girl and you're married now.  
I heard that your dreams came true.  
Guess she gave you things I didn't give to you." Rachel sang the lyrics of a popular song that Quinn had heard so many times in taxi's and stores.

Instead of leaving though, curiosity got the best of her. Quinn walked towards the stage where Rachel was standing with her eyes closed. Quinn felt the sincerity of Rachel's song choice. She knew that Rachel was thinking about Finn in the future, about what would happen if Rachel didn't give into his needs. Quinn hated it.

"Old friend, why are you so shy?  
Ain't like you to hold back or hide from the light." Quinn began to step out of the darkness of the backstage. She was in awe as she watched colorful musical notes fall from Rachel's mouth and hang in the air, only disappearing when their sound faded.

"I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited  
But I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it.  
I had hoped you'd see my face and that you'd be reminded  
That for me it isn't over." Rachel continued to belt out the song perfectly, no note was offkey and Quinn smiled at the beauty of the different colored notes that danced around the room. She knew Rachel's power, and she realized why this power hadn't scared Rachel away. It wasn't something that was dangerous, it was helpful and beautiful and Quinn couldn't stop staring at her.

"Never mind, I'll find someone like you  
I wish nothing but the best for you too  
Don't forget me, I beg  
I'll remember you said,  
"Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead,  
Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead" Quinn kept walking forward, almost in a trance and she decided to sit at the piano and join in to add an instrument along to Rachel's singing.

Something that Quinn was grateful for was when she had asked Ashley to teach her how to play the piano. The blonde had excelled past Ashely's level quickly and began to teach herself more.

Quinn got set and began to play, watching as a few notes turned gray, black and shriveled as Rachel squeaked at Quinn's presence and the piano but quickly recovered smiling at the blonde.

"You know how the time flies  
Only yesterday was the time of our lives  
We were born and raised  
In a summer haze  
Bound by the surprise of our glory days" Quinn began to get even more lost in the bright color that erupted around the piano as she struggled to keep up with Rachel. The beauty from the music they were creating was combining and Quinn found herself becoming enthralled by it, realizing she would soon become addicted.

"I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited  
But I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it.  
I'd hoped you'd see my face and that you'd be reminded  
That for me it isn't over." Rachel turned with the music, eyes sealed together in a pained look. Quinn felt her heart skip a beat and barely swallowed. She couldn't deny the beauty that Rachel was illuminating.

"Never mind, I'll find someone like you  
I wish nothing but the best for you two  
Don't forget me, I beg, I remember you said Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead, yeah" Rachel opened her eyes as a few tears slipped down her face. She showed nothing but pain and the colorful notes turned a dark blue and purple, dripping and fading as they left.

"Nothing compares  
No worries or cares  
Regrets and mistakes  
They are memories made.  
Who would have known how bittersweet this would taste?" Rachel stared at the door Finn had left through and bowed her head.

The next lyrics, Rachel whispered to herself. Quinn found herself stop playing the piano in order to catch what Rachel was saying.

"Never mind, I'll find someone like you  
I wish nothing but the best for you  
Don't forget me, I beg  
I'll remember you said,  
"Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead".

Never mind, I'll find someone like you  
I wish nothing but the best for you too  
Don't forget me, I beg  
I'll remember you said,  
"Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead,  
Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead."." Quinn watched the last drawn out note fall softly to the floor and fade. Rachel was still staring out at the seats that filled the auditorium, while Quinn tried to catch her breath at the performance that she had just witnessed. She reached out and dug her fingers into the piano bench to ground herself.

"I…" Quinn searched for the words to describe what she had just watched. What she had just been a part of. Rachel looked to Quinn, embarrassed and quickly trying to wipe her tears away.

"No!" Quinn spoke quickly as she stood in an attempt to placate Rachel. Quinn took a few steps forward before she withdrew. "It was-God, Rachel that was beautiful." She cleared her throat at the ending.

Rachel blushed and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Thank you, Quinn." She looked around once more before clearing her throat as well so that she could speak clearly. "How long were you there?" Rachel asked as she thought back to her earlier conversation.

Quinn picked up on her train of thought and acted quickly. "Oh! Oh, not long." Quinn busied herself with looking around at the stage that was foreign to her before now. "I heard singing and thought that maybe something was going on that I needed to see." Quinn blushed at her lame excuse before correcting herself. "I've never heard someone sing like that, not even on Broadway!" She added as an extra piece of information. For some reason she felt herself wanting Rachel to ask questions about her and she wanted to know more about Rachel.

"Broadway?" Rachel turned to Quinn so quickly the girl may have gotten whiplash. "You've seen a Broadway show? Rachel asked.

Quinn tightened the ponytail that her hair was in. "Well, yeah. I'd be an awful New Yorker if I hadn't." She supplied.

Rachel dropped her jaw and Quinn was afraid that she had broken the other girl. "Um…yeah. I lived there for a while, mostly just trying to-" Quinn cut herself off. What the hell was she thinking? Rachel couldn't know anything about her time there. She took a few steps back and Rachel snapped out of her daze.

"I'm sorry, I'm usually a much better conversational partner. I've never met someone that has lived in New York!" Rachel stopped and continued. "Actually, I have but what I mean is that I haven't met someone who has moved from New York to Ohio. That's…that's such a huge change! Why?" Rachel questioned.

Quinn stepped back more, feeling her walls flare up in defense. "I decided to live with my mom." Quinn answered generically.

"Your mom?" Rachel seemed to go into her own mind, running through people in Lima that could possibly have a daughter from New York and never talk about them. When she returned from it she stared at Quinn in confusion. "May I ask who your mother is?"

Quinn tried to smile but it felt more like a grimace. She knew the real Sue but this city had only met the mean, fake persona that Sue put off. "Sue Sylvester. She's the cheerleading coach here, I guess. My dad moved away for business and they couldn't keep their marriage-"

Rachel interrupted her. "I know your mother." Quinn watched Rachel's facial expression and body language do a 180. She looked withdrawn and Quinn knew that her walls had also gone up.

"Okay…?" Quinn tried to get more of an answer from Rachel. Instead the girl walked off of stage and grabbed her backpack.

"I should go, lunch is almost over and I really can't afford to be late to my next class." Rachel rushed towards the door.

Quinn hurried to turn and close the piano key guard, speaking as she did, "Alright, maybe you can show me to my next class? I have no idea where it-" The auditorium door that Finn had left through earlier slammed shut.

"Great." Quinn sighed, turning to leave exit through the back of the auditorium instead.

"When were you going to tell me that everyone at this school hates you?" Quinn spoke quietly into her prepaid cell phone.

She heard indistinct yelling from the other line before Sue returned her attention to their call. "The best way to blend in, is to stick out." Sue answered Quinn.

"You do realize that that makes no sense, don't you? The whole reason that I went to New York City was to blend in by being one in millions." Quinn peered in at the Glee club, overhearing about where they met from the nice history partner she had been assigned to, Tina.

"And look at where that got you, Q. Take it from me, people notice you more when you try too hard to fit in." Sue began shouting again so Quinn removed the phone from her ear.

Once the shouting became bearable, Quinn returned the phone to her ear. "I just want to be left alone." Quinn harshly spat into the receiver. "Is that too much to ask for? I never asked for this life!"

Sue sighed deeply into the phone. "None of us really did, Q." There was shuffling in the background and Quinn leaned against the lockers. "Gotta go." Sue said. There was a click following.

"God." Quinn whispered as the choir room began to empty. Quinn straightened and watched for Tina who spotted her and waved.

"Hey!" She walked up to Quinn and gently touched her arm in a friendly manner. "Why didn't you come in?" The Asian girl asked.

Quinn shuffled on her feet slightly. "My mom called."

"I get it. First day and everything can be really stressful, especially when you send your kid off to school, huh?" Tina smiled at Quinn.

"Yeah, I think she was worried people wouldn't like me because of who she is." Quinn fibbed in hopes of winning Tina over before she found out Sue was her mom.

Tina continued smiling but looked puzzled. "Why wouldn't people like you? Is your mom some politician or…?" Tina left the question open.

"No, she…" Quinn watched Rachel walk up and place her hands on her hips, she cleared her throat so Tina turned to look at her.

"Hey, Rachel!" Tina smiled and gestured from Quinn to Rachel and then back again. "This is Rachel, Quinn. She's the captain of Glee Club." Tina smiled at Rachel. "What's up?"

Rachel looked baffled. "You don't know?" She asked Tina while she scowled at Quinn.

"Know what?" Tina asked in confusion.

Rachel stomped her foot. "She's Sue Sylvester's daughter."

Tina made an oh face and stared at Quinn before she smiled sadly. "Yeah, that would explain why she was worried." She laughed and patted Quinn on the arm. "Welcome to McKinley, Quinn. Sue may rule with an iron fist but she doesn't tell me who my friends are." Tina looked at Rachel who huffed and marched back into the choir room.

Shrugging, Tina looked over at Mike who had been waiting patiently across the hall for her. He smiled and she blushed, "My boyfriend, Mike." She explained. Quinn nodded and he returned it. "See you tomorrow in history?" Tina asked in conclusion.

"Yeah. Yeah of course. Have a good night guys." Quinn said as they walked down the hall holding hands.

Quinn waited for the rest of the club to stop mingling so that she could go talk to Rachel. Instead, she looked up to see Puck staring at her. She felt every nerve in her body come alive and a shiver spread throughout it.

Quinn ground her teeth together and narrowed her eyes at him. "What?" She demanded.

He shoved off of the window of the choir room. "You look familiar." HE answered.

Quinn had heard that he was a player and hit on girls often so she wasn't too concerned. "Right, that's a sad excuse for a pickup line." She walked towards the choir room but he blocked her way. "Move." She commanded.

"Easy, hot momma." He wiggled his eyebrows. "You are damn fine, but I know better than to hit on anyone related to Coach Sylvester." He walked around her as she stood with her arms folded over her chest "Still…it might be worth the risk." He flirted.

She leaned into his ear. "If you want to keep the ability to walk, I suggest you leave. Now." She leaned away with a fiery smile.

He winked. "I like my ladies saucy!" Puck grinned but stopped when he circled around her once more. "What I meant by you looking familiar is that I think…" He stepped forward. "You were in an alley a couple weekends ago." He smiled at her cockily.

Quinn sighed trying to play it off but inside she was burning up. "What makes you so sure of that?"

Puck was sporting a toothy smile now. "I know everyone in town, and I know for sure I wouldn't forget your fine ass."

Quinn snapped and grabbed his arm tightly, staring deep into his eyes. She felt the tingling in her hand and he began to squirm in her grip. "Prove it. "She ground out through her teeth, before throwing his arm away from her and stepping into the choir room. She confirmed in one glance of the room that Rachel was the only one still left so she slammed the door behind her causing the brunette to jump.

Rachel turned, holding her hand to her chest. "You scared me." She frowned at Quinn before placing her hands once more on her hips. "I had a feeling that you would make an appearance today. You are Sue's daughter after all." Rachel stated

Quinn felt the tingling begin again and stared at Rachel in anger. "What does that even mean? I know that I'm Sue's daughter, Rachel. I told you that."

Rachel let out a small laugh. "I suppose she thought she could trick me and the entire Glee Club as well? This is dirty even for her though, using her own daughter to bring us down?" Rachel laughed again and Quinn was reaching a boiling point. Normally Quinn could keep her cool but there was something about Rachel, something that intensified everything within her.

"What are you even talking about? I came here two weeks ago, Rachel. I barely know Sue," Quinn found herself lying more and more. "she came into my life at a random time over the summer and insisted that I come to live with her." Quinn watched Rachel soften and begin to deflate. "Sue," Quinn thought for a moment, hoping Rachel wouldn't look too much into what she was going to say, "Sue isn't who she pretends to be."

Rachel watched Quinn struggle to explain, and Rachel decided to spare her. "Quinn…I'm, I'm sorry. I thought that she had been using you to somehow sabotage Glee Club." Rachel stepped forward, into Quinn's personal space, "I apologize for the way that I treated you both in the auditorium and in front of Tina and just now."

Quinn stared at Rachel, still trying to get used to their proximity. "I want to join Glee." Quinn spat out, not sure why she just said that.

"I…come again?" Rachel stared at Quinn.

"Playing the piano today, I realized I need an outlet." Quinn searched for words as Rachel stared at her. "I can sing, maybe not well, but I can try. And I can compete, I'll show up to whatever practices you have an-"

"I'm going to hug you now." Rachel stated, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around a stiff Quinn.

For a few seconds Quinn stood frozen in Rachel's embrace. Rachel sighed happily in her ear and Quinn melted into the hug that shortly ended after a few more seconds.

"You have no idea how much we need you!" Rachel shouted, listing off everything about competing and the lack of members. Quinn plastered a fake but sturdy smile on her face, wondering why the hell she had just asked to join a club. Glee Club at that.


End file.
